Title

Memory of a. . .?

Broad Question

Does environment affect memory?

Specific Question

How does the decoration of the tank effect the memory of a Goldfish?

Hypothesis

It is hypothesize that the goldfish in fish tank 1, the decorated tank will have a slow time at getting to the food and will not learn as fast as the goldfish in fish tank 2, the non-decorated.

Rationale

The reason why I thought that the fish in tank 2 will have a harder time at getting at the food and learning because there are more things to get in the way and distract the fish in Tank 1, but in Tank 2 there is nothing to catch the goldfish’s attention.
On the news site The Telegraph it talks about having a bored fish and curing its boredness, “continued confinement in a small tank may lead to an existence that’s devoid of challenge and meaning. The simplest answer is to get the biggest tank that can fit into the space you have available, and to populate it with a variety of plants and ornaments.” - The Telegraph

Graph of Hypothesis

My hypograph of the time it took the fish to get to the food

The mean times of the Fish

Variables

Independent Variable:

The decoration of the tank (Tank gravel, fake/real plants, fish tank statues, and etc.)

Dependent Variable:
The time it takes for the Goldfish/Test Subjects to get to the food

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

• the time the experiment feed the Goldfish everyday
• timing method
• how much food the test subjects will get per meal
• how many times a day the Goldfish will be fed
• temperature of the tank
• who approaches the tanks
• lighting of the tank (if the experiment turned the light on the night the fish came to the tank, the light has to be turned of for the whole experiment)
• when the tank is cleaned
• brand of fish food
• the size and length of the Goldfish

General Plan

Potential Problems And Solutions

Fish Potential Problems: cats (if the experimenter has cat/s) Solution: keep the fish in a room where the door can be closed; where the cat/s cannot reach them

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

Fish: other animals in the house, dog, cat, bird, and etc.

Experimental Design

The question for this Science Experiment is, “Does the decoration of the fish tank affect the fish’s memory?”
For this experiment the materials have to be 2 fish tanks with 2 goldfish, set one tank up with decoration and the other with no decoration. Fill the tank till there is only a half of an inch of space from the lid of the tank to the water, make sure that there is water purifier in the water so that the test subjects don’t die. Put the fish in the tank and feed them at the same time every day, 2 taps before feeding them, then 2 flakes of fish food. After 2 weeks of that start testing the test subjects. Tap twice, put the 2 flakes in, then, start timing the fish to see how long it takes them to get to the food. After 1 week of doing what was just said before switch the test subjects tanks and do the same as before. Tap twice, put 2 flakes in, then start timing the fish to see how long it takes them to get to the food.

Resources and Budget Table

1. Goldfish A: 6 cm - 5.5 cm Goldfish B: 5 cm - 4.5 cm2 Goldfish A: has black spots Goldfish B: is plain orange/gold

2. Fish Tank1 gallon - 5.7” long ~ 5.9” wide ~ 8” tall2 tanks - see through plastic walls

3. Fish Food0.42 OZ/ 12g1 cylinder - “Tetra Fin”

4. Colorful Rocks2.3 KG1 bag - “PermaGlo Aquarium Gravel, Blue”

5. Fake Plants18-23 cm long4 plants - rainbow colors - “Aqua Culture”

6. Fish Sculpture2” long ~ 1” tall ~ 1” opening1 statue - rainbow colors - can have the fish hide in it

7. Tweezer3.75 cm long1 tweezer - silver - blue

8. iPod App Stopwatch2.25” wide ~ 4.5” long1 iPod - silver

9. Water 2 gallons 2 gallons

10. iPod (Video/Pictures)2.25” wide ~ 4.5” long1 iPod - silver

Detailed Procedure

1. Get materials: 2 fishbowls, decoration; colorful rocks, plant, and etx.; 2 common goldfish from Walmart, fish food: Tetra Fin Goldfish Flakes, water treatment, and stopwatch.
2. Number the fish bowls 1 and 2
3. Setup fishbowl 1 with decoration, like putting fish tank gravel, fake plants, and small fish tank statues, put NO decoration; repeat NO decoration in fish bowl 2.
4. Fill fish bowls 1 and 2 with water until there is 1/2 inch of space from rim of the bowl to the water; add required water treatment and then put the Common Goldfish in them, one fish in each bowl.
5. The fish in bowl 1 is Test Subject A, the fish in bowl 2 is Test Subject B; remember this.
6. Take 2 flakes out each meal; this will be the test subjects amount of food per meal
7. Feed the Test Subjects 2 times a day at the same place in the tank and time everyday, tap 2 times on the top of the spot where you are feeding them before feeding them. Clean the tank every Sunday, do step 3 and 4 once again.
8. Time the fish in seconds and see how long it takes them to get the food; the two flakes. Record the data.
9. Repeat steps 6 and 8 every day for 2 weeks.
10. At the end of 2 weeks test their memory; for 1 week tap 2 times and time {in seconds} how long it takes them to get to the feeding spot, once there, feed them.
11. Repeat step 9, 2 times a day for a week.
12. After the 1 week put Test Subject A in fishbowl 2 and put Test Subject B in fishbowl 1
13. Repeat step 9 for one week, along with step 10 and 11
14. Once at the end of step 14 compare data of Test Subject A & B and see which bowl; 1 and 2 they did better in.

If your Test Subjects die before the 4 week trials are up; start again with 2 NEW Test Subjects.
Notice! Don’t kill the other Test Subject if the other died, thank you.

Diagram

Bowl 1- Decorated Test Subject A - First Week Bowl 2 - Non Decorated Test Subject B - First Week Bowl 1 - Decorated Test Subject B - Second Week Bowl 2 - Non Decorated Test Subject A - Second Week

Data Table

Data Analysis

Graphs

Photos

Test Subject A in Tank 1

Test Subject A in Tank 2

Test Subject B in Tank 2

Test Subject B in Tank 1

Results

The average for the experiment was 45 seconds for Test Subject A in Bowl 1, the decorated tank; 8 seconds for Test Subject B in Bowl 2, the non-decorated tank; 21 seconds for Test Subject B in Bowl 1; and 8 seconds for Test Subject A in Bowl 2. The highest result for Test Subject A in Bowl 1 was 97 seconds, then when Test Subject A was in Bowl 2 the highest result was 27 seconds. The highest result for Test Subject B in Bowl 2 was 33 seconds, then when Test Subject B was in Bowl 1 the highest result was 63 seconds. It seems that the Test Subjects in Bowl 2 were the fastest, and then in Bowl 1 the Test Subjects were the slowest.

Conclusion

The experiment was made to test if a Goldfish’s memory is affected by the decoration of the tank. The results show that the tank with no decoration in it was the easiest to find the feeding spot; Test Subject A’s fastest test time in the non-decorated tank: 1 second(Test Subject A was in the non-decorated tank second), and Test Subject B’s fastest test time in the non-decorated tank: 1 second(Test Subject B was in the non-decorated tank first). When the Test Subjects were in the tank with decoration it was the hardest to remember where the feeding spot was; Test Subject A’s fastest test time in the decorated tank: 8 seconds(Test Subject A was in the decorated tank first), and Test Subject B’s fastest test time in the decorated tank: 1 second(Test Subject B was in the decorated tank second).

Discussion

The experiment question was: “Does the decoration of a fishtank affect the fish’s memory?” The results do answer the question. The answer is: that it is easier for the Test Subjects, the Goldfish, to find the feeding spot in a shorter time in the non-decorated tank. It was hypothesized that the fish that started off in Bowl 1, the decorated bowl, that the Test Subject will be slower at finding the food in Bowl 2, the non-decorated bowl. The hypothesis was correct to a point, because when Test Subject A was moved into Bowl 2, the fish was slow at first, then gathered speed and got a better average than Test Subject B in Bowl 2. 7.57 seconds for Test Subject A in Bowl 2 and 7.92 seconds for Test Subject B in bowl 2. The hypothesis was supported by the results because Test Subject B had less times that were more than 3 seconds, the Goldfish had 4; whilst Test Subject A had 6 times that the time was more than 3 seconds.
The results/data/observations that answered the question largely varied. Test Subject B had an easier time at finding the feeding spot in Tank 1 after being in Tank 2 first. Whilst Test Subject A had a much harder time at finding the feeding spot in Tank 1, but Test Subject A was the first in Tank 1. Test Subject B’s slowest time in Tank 1 was: 63 seconds. Test Subject A’s slowest time in Tank 1 was: 97 seconds. There is a range of 34 seconds. Test Subject B’s fastest time in Tank 1 was: 1 second. While Test Subject A’s fastest time in Tank 1 was: 8 seconds. The range this time is: 7 seconds. Test Subject B’s slowest time in Tank 2 was: 33 seconds. Test Subject A’s slowest time in Tank 2 was: 27 seconds. Test Subject B’s fastest time in Tank 2 was: 1 second. While Test Subject A’s fastest time in Tank 2 was: 1 second. There is no difference there. There is a pattern in Tank 2’s data, it is that almost all of the time, seconds, was under 5 seconds. There is a strong enough connection that this data shows that the fish had an easier time at finding the feeding area than when they were in Tank 1. These results tie back to a similar experiment about the myth of a goldfish’s memory being 3 seconds long. There are many similarities in these experiments, the experimenters trained the Goldfish to go to a place in the tank to feed. Then started to have the fish go to the spot to get feed. This experiment about Goldfish 3 second memory shows that Goldfish have much longer memories than thought, making it so that the fish remember where to go to be feed.
The problems of this experiment was that the Test Subjects could die any moment of the day, and then the experiment would have to be started over. This problem couldn’t be managed unless the fish could be brought back to life. While the experiment was being run nothing change or was improved. There was nothing that could have been done to the design to make it better or smarter; other than not using Goldfish as Test Subjects. The only technology used in this experiment was a camera and a video camera. The only information that was needed for the technology was to know how to use a camera and how to take video. The knowledge gained in this experiment can benefit the world of fish, and people that work at aquariums. The workers can use this information by training a certain species of fish to go to one feeding spot in the tank and another species to feed on another side of the tank; like: the workers want to feed the unicorn tangs and bird wrasses, but in two different places. So the workers train on species to go to one side of the tank while the other goes to the opposite side of the tank. New experiments and questions that could build onto the knowledge that was created by this experiment could be, “Does the color of the room/tank affect the animal’s memory?” or, “Does the temperature of the water affect the fish’s memory?”
There are so many other questions and experiments done to build onto the knowledge already found in this experiment.

Background Research

• Goldfish have a longer memory span than 3 seconds; 3 to 5 months. [This experiment is all about memory]
• Goldfish beg for food [this can affect the results {time wise}]
• Goldfish can distinguish different people [this can affect the results {time wise}]
• The smaller the tank the less of the challenge and meaning of life. (I think this also goes for Decoration[this can affect the results {time wise}])
• They, the Goldfish, have a long memory span than we give them
• Goldfish can remember even after 3 weeks

References

Addbot. "Goldfish." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.Hipsley, Anna. "Goldfish Three-second Memory Myth Busted." - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). ABC News, 19 Feb. 2008. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.Wedderburn, Pete. "Pet Subjects: Do Fish Get Bored?" The Telegraph. The Telegraph, 23 Jan. 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to see if decorating goldfish tanks effect the Goldfish’s memory. A Goldfish was put in a decorated tank and the other Goldfish in a non-decorated tank. Both fish were trained for two weeks to feed at the same place and time each day. After those two weeks, they are tested and timed to see how long it takes to get to the feeding spot. After that the fish were switched into the opposite tank and tested again. The result was that the decoration does affect the Goldfish’s memory. The mean times for the decorated tank were: 44.78 seconds for Goldfish A and 20.5 seconds for Goldfish B. The mean times for the non-decorated tank were: 7.92 seconds for Goldfish B and 7.57 seconds for Goldfish A. These results shows that the non-decorated improves their memory.